1. Watch the presentation entitled Watch: Earth Science Research: Types and Assumptions in the Learn section of Module 4: Week 4.
2. Choose a current earth science research article from one of the Explore items in Module 4: Week 4.
3. Read the article and write a thread that follows the following outline (Each section should be a separate paragraph with 4 paragraphs total.).
State the article title, web address (url), and author(s).
Summarize the article’s research method, and findings.
Categorize the research as one of the following science types:
Mostly historical science
Mostly experimental science
Mostly predictive science
Some combination of 2 or all 3 above
Explain why you categorized it as one of the above.
Identify any assumptions (unproven statements) in the article and offer your opinion on the validity of those assumptions. Examples would include: old-Earth ages or timelines, rates of geologic processes, evolution, generalizations that are unsupported, etc. If there are no assumptions, describe any implications from the research that may have been ignored or left out.  
Notes:
Be sure to choose an earth science article (geology, oceanography, or meteorology). There are links that take you to other topics. Do not choose biology, engineering, ecology, population, life science, health science or human behavior topics.
If choosing an article from Geology.com, do not choose any articles by Hobart King. (These are educational and are not based on current research.)
If you cannot address all or most of the items mentioned above, choose another article.
Use the dialogue box to paste your content or write your content. Do not submit your thread as an attached word or pdf file.
Do not use bullets, numbering or outlines. Construct a well-written thread in narrative format.
Please review the Discussion Assignment Instructionsprior to posting. You may also click the three dots in the upper corner to Show Rubric.
Post-First: This course utilizes the Post-First feature in all Discussions. This means you will only be able to read and interact with your classmates’ threads after you have submitted your thread in response to the provided prompt.
Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will create a thread and a classmate reply in response to the provided prompts for each discussion. There are 2 Discussions in this course.
For each discussion, you are required to post 1 thread between350 and 450 words structured with 3-5 paragraphs. Do not submit this thread as an attached Word document. In addition to the thread, you are required to reply to 1 classmate thread; each reply must be 150-175 words and must add substantially to the discussion. The classmate’s chosen article must differ from your thread article. Follow applicable APA guidelines for formatting. The instructions for each discussion and reply differ from one another. Please read the specific requirements for the discussions that are stated in the Discussion and Discussion Reply prompts.For grading criteria, please see the Discussion Grading Rubric. 
Module
Discussion
4
Discussion: Current Earth Science Research (Thread and Reply)
7
Discussion: Young Earth Research  (Thread and Reply)